"Revolutionary Women" by Egyptian artist, Georges Bahgory

by Jared Bachman

Every violent revolution in history has been a failure.

I understand that you’re probably doubting that. Many Americans have been misled to believe in successful revolutions in history. The American Revolution is considered a success by many. We’re often told that the brave rebels stood up to the unethical king across the ocean. It can be easy to nitpick through revolutions and say that one was a good one and that was a bad one, but have they really lived up to the dreams of their promoters? More importantly, did they really help the world become a better place?

Promised Land

What is it that all revolutions have promised? 

While the methodology might have changed, the promises have been similar. The most important of these promises is a more peaceful world.

The average person does not fight a revolution hoping to kill. The sociopaths in our world are few and far between. There is no revolution fought on the concept of violence. The revolutions have always been a “means to an end.”

The leaders of every revolution insist that the solution will come after the violence. Some of the leaders promoted specific plans. Others didn’t have to promote any plan. There is a similarity between them all though. The changes in their revolution can only commence after the complete disconnection with their current system.

Their promised land can only come after the violence.

Their is an implied promise within all of this. All revolutions are made out to be the final revolution.

People are misled to believe that their revolution is going to be the last. Naturally, the majority isn’t thinking the rest of life is going to be butterflies and flowers but they always think the world is going to get better.

The World Today

Has the world gotten better? 

We’re still using the same political methods that have been around for thousands of years. The number of people dying in war isn’t going down. In fact, now countries are in the position to kill hundreds of millions of people with the press of a few buttons. It’s arguable that the world has gotten worse.

The politicians of today have taken the principled stances of the past and destroyed them. I’m not a believer in the US Constitution but even that has been riddled with exceptions to the rules. These are promises that were made by the revolutionaries. These revolutionaries are not the first to make promises that their systems couldn’t keep. It’s happened every time throughout history.

There is no way to know whether the original revolutionaries really believed their promises would last but I firmly believe they did. I believe revolutionaries don’t put their life on the line to make small temporary changes. I believe they do it to make a true difference in history. Sadly, they can’t make their changes permanent alone.

That is why I’ve written this article for you. I hope to help the revolutionaries of tomorrow make a permanent difference in history.

The Peaceful Revolution

Violent revolutions have always failed. They promised peace through war. That just doesn’t happen. Peace will never come from a short-term escalation of the violence. It’s an attempt to build a peaceful world on a foundation of violence. Escalating violence is never justifiable. 

I feel the anger. I understand the urge to start fighting for the things you’ve been promised; but the revolution you want so badly won’t come in the matter of a few years. National revolutions can happen in a year. Millions of people can die and everyone can be worse off. A few years later, the violence that justified the revolution is used to justify the nation’s “protection.”

You may not be able to stop a violent revolution but you are capable of not participating in the violence.

You may be called a coward; but remember, the ones refusing to kill are always called cowards. Protect yourself if you have to but never give in to the voices telling you to escalate, because those are the voices that you’re fighting against.

The peaceful revolution is not going to take a year. That’s because it’s not a national revolution. It’s going to be a revolution in the way individuals live their lives. People will finally learn not to use the escalation of violence for their own personal gain. It’s a revolution that could take generations to complete but it’s a revolution that can finally bring the long-lasting peace that everyone is actually looking for.

This article was originally posted on Intellihub in 2013.